


Sinking With You

by Tired_Edge



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hogwarts Sixth Year, Hurt/Comfort, My First Fanfic, Not too heavy, Ron swears, no beta we die like men, the squid is there and he aint happy, yay???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:27:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23110936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_Edge/pseuds/Tired_Edge
Summary: It's December 20th, and Harry isn't available to go ice skating. Luckily for Ron, Lavedner is very willing to go with him. Unluckily for both of them, the squid isn't very happy.(Title in proggress, may change later to not sound so sappy)
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley technically since its 6th year, Lavender Brown/Ron Weasley
Kudos: 3





	Sinking With You

Truth to be told, Ron was very comfortable in his bed, the warmth of the sheets shielding him from everything going outside at the moment, the remnants of sleep lying calmly on his eyelids. But truth to be told, Harry did not care as he pulled the sheets off him, his voice suddenly much more piercing as he told Ron they were going to be late. Ron cursed as he was pulled back to reality. A reality in which not only did they have to wake up at ungodly hours and you-know-who was running around, but it was also very cold. 

Then he glanced out the window. The fields and trees white from the clean white snow that kept falling from the pale grey sky, begging all the students to go out and play. But it had been like that for days. What struck him was the lake, half a mile of glimmering and shiny ice in each direction. It was the first time the lake had been frozen since he was at Hogwarts, due to the giant squid breaking the ice all the previous years. Which meant…

“Harry, do you wanna go ice skating later?” Ron’s tone was hopeful, giddy with happiness. 

He smiled widely. It had been ages since he went ice skating. Back in the burrow, there was a small lake next to their house that froze each winter, allowing the Weasley siblings to slide through the ice however they pleased. Yet, once he started Hogwarts, he had spent every single Christmas away from the burrow and thus away from the little frozen lake and any chance to skate in it.

“Sorry mate, today is Slughorn’s party, remember?” Harry answered after a while, his mind obviously in another place.

Ron felt his insides turn, “Oh right, I forgot.”

Although Ron’s feelings were far from usual, classes didn’t seem to stray from the average. Teachers didn't seem to view the approaching Christmas vacation as an excuse to lighten up the workload, but rather to increase it. Harry's fixation on Draco didn't stop him from creating a perfect potion. Slughorn obviously didn't miss the opportunity to praise him accordingly, later dismissing Ron's bubbling work as "quite average, Rupert". Ron's response consisted on knocking his cauldron and its contents into the floor in angered protest. But his complaint was in vain, for of course he was the one to clean it up. In transfiguration they received back a particularly bad essay, in Ron's case, due to the lack of Hermione's aid these recent days. Charms turned out to be also quite unexciting. Since he failed to do what was supposedly a "simple shrinking charm usually used on clothes".

Consequently, when he arrived to the common room with a scary expression painted on his face, making the first year's scurry away, it was far from surprising.

"Won-Won! You're here!" Lavender jumped at him with incredible agility, not noticing the sour look he gave at her words. She proceeded to smooch him, deepening the kiss as they usually did, her now familiar tongue entwining with his. He attempted to return the kiss, which sadly ended in obvious failure

She pulled apart, "What's wrong?" she asked, her thin eyebrows furrowing. 

“It’s silly, really.”

She passed a hand through his hair, twirling it, “You can tell me.”

"I… I wanted to go ice skating. But Harry's at that Twat's, Slughorn's, Christmas party and…" he stopped. It was childish, being angry because he couldn’t go ice skating, was he five? 

"I could go ice skating with you!" said Lavender, her tone chirpy yet sweet. 

"I err… But you ain't got ice skates. I had a pair to lend Harry, but they won't fit you and I can’t do that stupid shrinking charm and… " 

"Well lucky for you, I just learned a muggle trick to fix that"

* * *

"You're telling me muggles just add cotton to the shoes that don't fit them and we wizards use bloody shrinking charms!" 

"Well… Yeah" Lavender said, pushing some cotton down Harry's former skates so they would fit her smaller feet.

"I can't bloody believe it!" 

They were on the border of the lake, dressed with their thickest robes, changing into the Weasley's old battered ice skates. Around them, every single inch of the once green field was pure white, except for the small trail that lead to Hagrid's cottage, which was a brownish yellow. The deciduous trees lacked any leaves and the pine trees were covered in snow, looking like some muggle chess pieces his father had showed him once (which, he had to disagree with his father, were definitely less cool than wizard pieces). A few younger students near the castle were throwing snowballs at each other, yet they were so far away that their screams and laughs could be barely heard. 

Ron finally finished tying his skates and made his way to the frozen lake. It had been ages since he actually ice skated, so he was quite unstable. He moved a few meters forward, feeling his dormant skills come back. Slowly he gained speed, as his body remembered how to do this thing he loved so long ago. It felt fantastic, the cold air blowing past him. If he closed his eyes he was back at the burrow, before he started Hogwarts and his best friend was trying to be killed by you-know-who every single year. He, of course, didn’t close his eyes for a very long time. He may be an idiot, but he wasn’t an idiot. He tried to do a quick turn, turning his left foot at a ninety degree angle. Something thumped against the ice from beneath, causing him to lose balance. His feet quickly skated along the same spot, uselessly attempting to keep standing for he fell against the ice with a nasty sound. It didn’t take long for him to stand up; he had gone through worse after all.

“Hey Ron? I...I don’t know how to skate,” Lavender said. Ron quickly looked at the shore, guiltily. She was standing in the ice, her arms spread out in an attempt to maintain balance, forgotten. Her feet kept slipping, but somehow she had managed to not fall yet.

Ron skated towards her, with slightly more confidence than before, “It’s easy! Just do what I do.”

“You fell down ten seconds ago.” 

“That was because something knocked the ice! It wasn’t _me._ ”

Lavender shrieked, “Something knocked the ice? What do you mean something knocked the ice?”

He held her cheek, “It was probably a fat fish, chill,” he held his hand to her, “C’mon, I’ll teach you.”

Lavender placed her hand in his. Her soft skin warm against his. He guided her through the ice, being careful she didn't fall. They slid across the ice, slowly. It was different, more relaxing. It wasn’t like the burrow, where they all raced, trying to surpass each other. Instead of a rush excitement and a thrush of energy, he felt peaceful, joyful. Her pretty blonde hair softly bounced on her shoulders, framing her face. Her cheeks and nose were slightly red from the cold, and her expressions changed from scared to peaceful as they slid across the ice, hand in hand.

There was a loud crack. They both turned around, fear present in their faces. The ice shattered and splintered. From the splashes and the waves large horrifying tentacles emerged. Horrified, they hopelessly stared at the creaking ice beneath them. A large crack formed under their feet. Lavender screeched. The squid slammed his tentacles harder against the ice, making a [horrifying bloop noise](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBN56wL35IQ) that pierced Ron’s eardrums. 

“Shit!” He grabbed Lavender’s wrist and started skating towards the land. She fell down, not expecting him to pull her. Tears on her face, she stood up. But the ice trembled and wavered under the knocking of the squid, and Lavender’s skills weren’t very refined yet. She tumbled down just as the ice beneath her broke apart. Her body plummeted down, her blonde hair disappearing under the pitch black waters. 

“Lav!” he jumped down after her. How could he let this happen? Why did he think it was a good idea to skate just above a giant squid? Now Lavender was potentially dying. She would never be able to invest in muggle clothing. She would never annoy him again with her stupid nicknames. She would never laugh, or smile again. He kept swimming down, barely distinguishing the dark figure below him. Every muscle in his body ached with each armful. His fingers stretched towards her, he wouldn’t be able to grab her on time. She was going to die. _Fuck_.

Her fingers wrapped around his. He blinked. She stared back. With new determination, he pulled them both up. The waters pushed and pulled them, almost begging them to give up and let the dark depths swallow them, wiping them off earth’s surface forever. But every time he looked at Lavender she was staring at the surface, her eyes bloodshot but her stare firm. So he kept pulling as hard as he could, striving for the surface with all his strength.

They reached the surface. Their faces broke out of the water, their mouths gasping for air. They briefly smiled at each other. But both knew it was just one success in a battle for survival, and the shore was far away.

Ice slabs crashed against each other. Waves, taller than both had ever seen, washed over their heads, leaving them gasping for air. Ron pulled Lavender’s sleeve, indicating where the shore was. They swam, robes heavy, pulling them down. Each time the squid slung his tentacles, they seemed to be pulled further back. Ron bit his lip. They couldn’t just die here. He looked back. Lavender seemed to be thinking alike, for she nodded at him, determined. He reached for her. She grabbed his hand. A tentacle slammed against the water.

With greater strength, the wave pulled them down. Tightly shutting his eyes and gripping Lavender’s hand, Ron braced himself for whatever would come next. Water forced itself into his lungs, choking him. He felt Lavender struggle beside him, grabbing onto his body for dear life.

They hit shore.

Ron opened his eyes. He gripped the dark sand. Beside him, Lavender lay, violently coughing water. Their chests begged for breath. With a last bout of energy Ron stood up, wavering a little. He fell down. He looked at the reason. Mechanically, he took off the tattered skates, weakly throwing them away. Dragging himself across the sand, he did the same to Lavender. He pulled her up, indicating her to walk away, away from the squid and away from the lake. Like ghosts they moved forward, tired, uncaring. It wasn’t until they reached the bottom of one of the snowy hills surrounding the castle that they dropped down, giving up to rest.

It was quiet, the squid sinking into the depths of the lake and the students already entering the castle. There was no wind, but rather a calmness that rested and stretched along the school grounds. The previously cloudy sky was now cleared. Thousands of stars shone from it, each with its own unique hue and beauty. Even though it was cold and their robes were soaked, they laid on the snow. They heaved for breath, their bodies strained from the effort. Lavender was shaking, eyes red and blotchy.

“I'm sorry,” said Ron finally, “It was stupid, skating over a giant squid. I…” 

“It’s fi-fine.” Lavender rubbed her eyes, uselessly attempting to stop the tears falling from her cheeks. “Can you just… hug me…” She looked at him, her blue eyes wide and sad, a lost child begging for comfort, “Please?”

“Of...” Ron pulled himself slightly back, gaped, “Of course.”

He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her cold body and damp robes against his own. She sobbed uncontrollably, her tears soaking his chest. It was strange, seeing her cry. Hermione cried, but it was always when they were in danger, not afterwards. Which luckily avoided Ron and Harry some awkward and uncomfortable situations. Harry and he never cried, at least when there was someone around. But the three had constantly been exposed to peril and death since their first year. In a strange way, a way that shouldn’t be, it was normal. Lavender, however, had just experienced real danger, real closeness to death. The least Ron could do was hold her. So he stayed there, and she stayed there. They held each other, wordlessly asking for comfort.

He was unsure of how much time passed, but when he finally looked up again the moon had risen high up and the grounds now lacked illumination. He stood her up, and guided her towards the castle. They entered the Gryffindor common room, not exchanging a single word. He accompanied her as much as he was permitted towards the girls’ dormitory, and when she lingered a few seconds too long, pulled her in for a second hug. He hoped it was the right thing. And it seemed to be the right thing, for she squeezed him tight before turning and leaving. He then walked back to his own dorm. Once there, he only found Harry awake, with the map of requirement in one hand and his wand on the other, illuminating his face. They didn’t exchange a single word. Ron merely changed from his now frozen clothes to his too short pyjamas and slid into bed, wishing for the day to end. 

* * *

The next morning greeted Ron with a Great Hall full of smiles and laughter, excited for the beginning of Christmas. The tables were full of the usual delicacies, which filled the air with their sweet scent, begging to be eaten. He wondered if Lavender had said something, but the popular conversation topic seemed to be the Slug’s party, not Lavender and him nearly dying. He sat down next to Harry, who as usual stared at the Slytherin table, though Malfoy was missing this particular morning.

Dumbledore stood up, “It seems as though squid seemed to have had a bit of a tantrum yesterday. Although everything seems to be fine, we advise our students to not roam around the lake for now.”

Ron opened his mouth to protest, anger already present in his features.

“Yeah right, _fine_ ,” scoffed Lavender. Her voice sounded tired, and hoarse from a cold, but held humour and mockery in it. Ron closed his mouth, then sighed quietly.

Thank goodness they were fine.

**Author's Note:**

> So hope you enjoyed it...  
> This fic was first part of a larger one I was writing, which is why the bit about Lavender being into muggle clothing feels so random. In that fic she wanted to mix muggle and wizard fashion in her future job. I don't think she squealed enough to be in character, but oh well.  
> Also I absolutely forgot what Ron actually did on Slughorn's party, or if Dumbledor was aroung the following day.  
> I am also very aware that a) A teacher would have probably spotted them, b) They would have both gotten a hypothermia, and honestly they probably did. It just magically got fixed with a long night sleep. But this is fanfic and it's nearly 1am right now so please cut me some slack.  
> But thanks for reading!


End file.
